Mama's Hands
by Kalira69
Summary: The consequences of her son's minor childhood tumble are child's play for Konoha's best iryou-nin to soothe away. (Written for Sakura Month, Day 3)


Written for Day 3 of Sakura Month: Mama's Hands.

Specifically written with no partner in mind for Sakura, thus her kid's other parent is left completely unidentified here and this is solely about their relationship. (I enjoyed the challenge of writing it this way, as well, which was somewhat inspired by a lovely piece of mama!Sakura fanart with her toddler son by ssilcatt on Tumblr.)

* * *

Sakura twitched, startled, and jumped abruptly just before the neighbour's cat ran underfoot, channelling chakra reflexively to the balls of her feet as she landed on the side of the fence in a crouch. She sighed at herself.

She'd narrowly avoided several collisions in the market, as well, preoccupied with the problem Tsunade had outlined in her latest letter. It was a tricky sort of poison but antidotes were Sakura's specialty and she was sure she could figure it out, if she just had some time to _focus_.

Unfortunately the hospital had been too busy today to allow her that time. It had probably not been wise to allow the thought to distract her on her way home, either, she thought wryly. She shifted the basket of vegetables in the crook of her left arm and leapt lightly off the fence, over a skidding dustcloud with blonde hair and a very loud voice - Naruto's eldest was very like his father had been at the same age, if slightly less argumentative - to land right at the gate into her own front garden. She swung around the post, leaving the gate to stand open behind her, and headed inside.

She flipped Tsunade's letter out of her pocket onto the shelf near her study door on her way into the kitchen to unpack her purchases. It was her shortest workday of the week and she planned to put a little more time into cooking this evening, and put together slightly more elaborate lunches for tomorrow as well.

She hummed absently as she began to work, lightly tossing the knife in one hand and lining up a lotus root to slice. After checking her other ingredients she let her mind wander back to the puzzle of the new poison as she worked.

"Mama!"

Sakura stiffened at the sharp cry, flipping the knife and abandoning it beside the bowl of chopped vegetables as she darted for the door and out. "Kaoru!" Sakura called, already crossing the grass to where her son was crumpled - near the base of the tall sapling in the far corner of the garden. "Are you all right?" she asked, kneeling by him.

Kaoru sniffed and pushed himself up with a half-stifled whimper, his bright eyes sparkling with tears he wasn't quite shedding. "Mama. . . _Oww_. . ."

Sakura clucked, half soothing and half scolding, and stroked his hair out of his eyes. "I suppose you _forgot_ not to try tree-climbing without supervision?" she said dryly, raising her left hand and calling chakra to it, skimming her son's small body.

"I was fine, Mama!" Kaoru protested, ducking his head.

"Hm." Sakura said noncommittally. The scan revealed a few scrapes, some mild bruises and one that went bone deep where he had landed on his arm, probably the cause of his tears and initial cry of pain. No serious injuries, certainly.

Sakura healed the likely-aching bone, along with most of the lesser hurts - while normally she let his little scrapes be, it would almost have been more effort _not_ to heal them while channelling the iryou chakra into her son's body - and then kissed his brow lightly. "Be careful, my little one."

"Yes, Mama." Kaoru said obediently, nodding. ". . .no tree-climbing?" he asked, tilting his head away and eyeing her sidelong.

Sakura arched a brow at him and tapped one fingertip to his nose. "Not without supervision." she reminded evenly, unmoved. She leaned close. "No matter how good your chakra control is for your age."

Kaoru sighed long and pointedly, though he smiled a bit at the acknowledgement of the talent he had inherited from her, and Sakura just watched him, rocking back onto the balls of her feet. "Yes, Mama." he said again, tucking his knees up and looking at her.

"Why don't you come inside and help me with dinner?" Sakura asked, propping her chin in her palm, elbow on one knee.

Kaoru sighed again, but it wasn't so sulky this time. "Sure Mama." he said without much enthusiasm but also without resistance.

Sakura smiled slightly and ruffled his hair, then smoothed it out along his cheek. "After, I'll teach you a new kind of chakra control exercise, how about that?" she suggested with a conspiratorial wink. He beamed and Sakura wrinkled her nose playfully and rose.

Kaoru trotted along beside her as she returned to the house, alternating questions about the new exercise she was going to teach him and what they were doing for dinner, to her amusement. Sakura answered the latter and asked what he wanted for lunch tomorrow, dodging the former topic while she considered several options of which exercise to teach him.

Something a little lower risk than _tree-climbing_ , certainly, but not Sakura's favourite meditation exercise either. . . Kaoru had inherited her chakra control, if anything progressing _faster_ than she had - likely because she had begun work on it with him as soon as he began to show talent - but he had his father's elemental affinity, not hers. That would make a task that was an easy background focus for her a bit more complicated for him.

Sakura hummed thoughtfully as she ushered her son on to wash his face and hands before joining her in the kitchen.


End file.
